Discounted offer with mydeposits.co.uk
Do you take a deposit from your student tenants?
By law you must protect the deposit with a government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme.
Join mydeposits for just £30 today
University of Manchester have teamed up with mydeposits to offer you a discounted registration fee of just £30 this summer. That’s a saving of over £27 to protect your student tenant’s deposits and comply with the law.
Five reasons to join mydeposits:
Over 60,000 landlords use mydeposits because we are the only deposit protection scheme designed for landlords who want to keep hold of the deposit:
- You hold the deposit in your bank account for the duration of the tenancy agreement rather than having to hand it to a third party for safe keeping.
- You have the freedom to discuss any necessary deposit deductions directly with your tenants at the end of the tenancy. We regularly find that landlord/tenant issues over the deposit are resolved simply by talking, giving you complete control without needing to involve mydeposits.
- If you and your tenant can’t agree on deductions then our dispute resolution service is available to offer a free, professional and impartial conclusion to your dispute.
- We are a leading government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme.
- 80% of our members use the mydeposits website to manage their account. It’s quick and easy to protect new deposits, manage your portfolio and respond to dispute cases including uploading dispute evidence such as photos and documents, saving you time and money.
Join for just £30 using UNI006 promoter code and save £27.
- More information visit http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/landlords/landlord.htm
- Join now using the promoter code http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/jointds.htm
- Or call 0844 980 0290 to join over the phone.
Hatch Legal June 2010 Newsletter
Updates provided by Hatch Legal’s June newsletter:
1. New gas safety website – Landlords’ legal obligations relating to gas safety are now set out on the Health & Safety Executive’s website. To view go to http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/
2. Student loan interest rates increase – From September 2010, some people currently being charged 0% interest will have to pay 4.4% interest. Detailed guidance is available here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/
3. Assured shorthold tenancy threshold raised – The Assured Tenancies Order 2010 (SI 2010/908) will increase the rent limit for assured tenancies from £25,000 to £100,000 with effect from 1st October 2010. The Order will have an element of retrospective effect. You can read more about this and any other story on this post at http://hatchlegal.co.uk/
Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership E-Bulletin
This is the first instalment of Manchester City Council’s CDRP e-bulletin, keeping you up to date on all the hard work currently being done by the Partnership.
Click on the links below to read the full stories.
1. Gunman caught thanks to public and police dog
2. Crack house closure in Crumpsall
3. Jail for burglar thwarted by two pensioners – Withington
4. Prolific South Manchester burglar jailed
5. Residents invited to have coffee with a copper
For more information about the Partnership you can click on the following link:
‘The F words?’
The May-June 2010 issue of Residential Property Developer (official publication of the Residential Landlords’ Association) asks ‘Fixtures, fittings and furnishings: how much should you pay, and when is it worth forking out extra?’
The article, ‘The F words?’ cites an anecdotal case in which the landlord of a New York apartment was sued by his tenant ’because the IKEA kitchen…was “ugly” and not good enough’. The more pragmatic message is that tenants may be more aware of the furniture, fittings and fixtures in rented properties than in previous times, and may base some or all of their decision to rent on how the property is dressed. There is also a suggestion that, where goods appear to be of a high quality, ‘tenants…are more appreciative of the place and thus more likely to take care of it’.
There is a balanced perspective however – landlords are not actively encouraged to overspend where the rent they are likely to achieve doesn’t justify it. Suggestions, estimated costs and alternatives are given, and the view seems to be that some dressing and attention to appearance is important, but that this should be balanced against the potential return. Some suggestions are cheaper and easier to effect than others, for example dressing beds and laying tables with flowers in empty properties before viewings.
Source: Residential Property Investor, May-June 2010, ‘The F words?’ by Nicola Venning (www.rla.org.uk)
Change to ‘Use Classes Order’
In response to consultation on possible planning responses to HMOs, the Government has decided to provide a specific definition of ‘HMO’ by amending the Use Classes Order.
In Manchester, there are high concentrations of shared housing in some areas, which some feel can have negative implications.
From 6th April 2010, you require planning permission to change the use of a property from a ‘dwelling house’ (‘C3’ class) to a ‘HMO’ (‘C4’ class), i.e. planning permission is needed to let a property to a group of 3 or more unrelated people where it has previously been lived in by a family.
You will not need planning permission to change a house lived in by 3 or more unrelated people back to a house for a family. The change is not retrospective, i.e. if you let your property to 3 or more unrelated people at the time of the change, you will not need planning permission to continue to do so.
Manchester City Council’s interim approach (detailed policy to be prepared) is ‘The City Council will not permit conversion of a C3 dwelling house to a C4 House in Multiple Occupation where this would have a negative impact on the sustainability of neighbourhoods and residential amenity in the surrounding area’.
This is a legislative change and you may like to approach your relevant local authority for more specific information, however Manchester Student Homes will also try to answer any queries to the best of our ability.
How to get the most out of your adverts
Landlords, some tips to bear in mind when setting up your Manchester Student Homes web adverts are:
1. Don’t use capitals. Upper case type is thought to be read about 13% slower than lower case, as more effort is required to decipher the differences between two capital letters. If a property description is written in capitals less people may read it meaning that fewer may respond.
2. Include interesting, well-lit photos. Potential tenants may dismiss an advert that doesn’t include photos or where the photos are poorly taken. This year MSH is offering a service whereby we will visit your property and take upto 6 photos to be included on your advert. The cost of this service is £50. If you are interested please contact the MSH office.
3. Aviod cliches. Be clear and concise.
Meet at the MSH office
MSH registered landlords are welcome to use the MSH office within our usual opening hours to meet students and sign contracts.
The office is a pleasant, professional and neutral environment and MSH staff are nearby to help with queries and witness signatures. There are vending machines selling hot drinks and snacks and a public toilet.
The office is open 9-5 Monday to Friday, with some extended hours during busy periods, which will be advertised nearer the time (you might like to subscribe to this blog to receive updates). The office is in Fallowfield, Manchester, on the corner of Moseley Road and Wilmslow Road, opposite Tesco. Our full address is:
Unit 1-3, Ladybarn House, Moseley Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, M14 6ND
Are you satisfied with the MSH service?
Landlords! – complete our landlord online satisfaction survey here
Student direct article:
MSH are quoted in this article in Student Direct (Mancunion Edition), on the proposed changes to the ‘use classes order’, which could limit the number of student houses in Fallowfield and Withington.
